Broncos have troubles as they prepare for Cutler

By ARNIE STAPLETON, The Associated Press
| 7:56 p.m.Aug. 24, 2009

Denver Broncos' head coach Josh McDaniels talks with Kyle Orton in the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
— AP

Denver Broncos' head coach Josh McDaniels talks with Kyle Orton in the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
/ AP

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. 
It doesn't take Jay Cutler's return to Denver for the Broncos to find themselves in the middle of a circus.

Cutler and the Bears will visit Invesco Field on Sunday night in a preseason game like none other, one that marks the home debuts of coach Josh McDaniels, the man who chased Cutler out of town just weeks into his new job, and Kyle Orton, the methodical quarterback who replaced the Pro Bowl passer.

The Broncos still find themselves dealing with a soured superstar who has trust issues with the team, a simmering feud with the coach and a trade request on the table.

Sound familiar?

While Cutler forced a trade to Chicago after his clash with McDaniels six months ago, fellow Pro Bowler Brandon Marshall hasn't been able to punch his own ticket out of town.

The recalcitrant receiver asked for a trade in June and thought one would be in the works after meeting with team owner Pat Bowlen, but McDaniels quickly quashed that notion, and Marshall reported to training camp insisting he was only doing so to avoid the $15,888 daily fines he'd face for holding out.

He's only practiced about a half-dozen times this offseason, and he's only taken a handful of snaps with the starting offense this month.

He pulled a hamstring on the first weekend of training camp and didn't return until a week ago after his acquittal on a misdemeanor battery charge in Atlanta, a verdict he had hoped would give him leverage for a new deal to replace the one that will pay him $2.2 million this season.

His agent met with McDaniels last week on the same day Marshall met with a team executive, who apologized on behalf of the Broncos for an incident in which the receiver's teammates were instructed not to say they were happy for Marshall over his acquittal on charges he beat up his then-girlfriend 18 months ago.

Then, Marshall ran almost exclusively with the scout team last week after telling reporters he wasn't ready to resume his role as the Broncos' main receiver because he was nowhere near mastering the new playbook.

So McDaniels left him behind along with some injured players when the Broncos traveled to Seattle for their second preseason game Saturday.

The Broncos resume practice Tuesday and McDaniels said he expects Marshall to be in the mix.

But will he run any of the Broncos' offensive plays? Or will he simulate the Bears receivers instead of running his own routes? And will he be on the field Sunday night?

The Broncos' issues go beyond Marshall.

While Cutler has already shown flashes in Illinois of the brilliance and also the huffiness he was known for in Denver, the quarterback the Broncos got in return for the strong-armed, mop-topped star, hasn't exactly had a smooth transition.

Orton had a nightmarish three-interception performance in the Broncos' preseason opener at San Francisco following an awful stadium scrimmage that spawned the catch phrase "Orton hears a boo."

He atoned for his dismal debut last weekend at Seattle – save for an odd left-handed lob on fourth-and-1 that was intercepted in the end zone.

After the game, McDaniels sidestepped the question of whether he was looking forward to Cutler's return this week: "I'm looking forward to this week because there's another list in there on my desk of things that we have to fix," he said.

Chief among them are Marshall's sticky situation and a minus-six turnover differential that has the coaching staff scratching their heads.

Zero takeaways and six turnovers is not the kind of thing the Broncos need when the games start to count and they try to make their fans forget all about letting Cutler go.

Turnovers are "something we've talked about a ton, and maybe we haven't talked enough about it – or maybe we've talked too much about it, I don't know," McDaniels said.

One thing is for sure: all the talk this week will be about Cutler's return to face the team he left behind.

NOTES: The Broncos claimed DB Antwain Spann off waivers from Buffalo and waived rookie WR Travis Shelton. Spann is a fourth-year pro who was in New England from 2006-08, where he played in a career-best 10 games last season, mostly on special teams.